Every fleet manager wants to reduce fuel and insurance costs which is why fleet management systems are booming. ABI Research estimates that by 2018, fleet management systems will be a $27 billion market.

Focusing on the smaller businesses is Konetik, a UK start-up that has developed a plug-and-play fleet management system for small fleets (typically two to several hundred vehicles). This has traditionally been both expensive and time-consuming. Konetik charges a flat monthly rate for the service with no additional costs.

“Cars generate a large amount of accessible data which we believe could benefit SMEs in streamlining their fleet management to make data-driven decisions, making the whole process simpler,” explained Balazs Szabo, CEO of Konetik.

Partnering with Orange

Orange Business Services helped Konetik in the development of the plug-and-play fleet management system since the early days of its development, supporting the connectivity aspect from proof-of-concept testing.

Orange provides a single SIM card which offers data connectivity and cross-border roaming together with service management and access to a portal for SIM management. The system device is plugged into the diagnostic port of the vehicle to track everything from fuel consumption to driver behavior. The data is sent to the cloud via a direct data connection. The fleet manager can then access this data through an intuitive dashboard back at the office for further analysis.

The Konetik system allows companies to track vehicle usage, which is especially important where they are being used for both private and company purposes. It can also be programmed to take care of routine administration such as route optimization, job management and log book details. In addition, company drivers can access their data via a smartphone app, designed to help them develop their driving skills and increase efficiency which can help to reduce insurance costs and optimize resources.

Konetik will initially be available in Germany, which has 61.5 million registered vehicles on the road as of January 1 2016, 10% of which are fleet vehicles, according to KBA. Konetik will then launch across the rest of Europe.